Women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes has been pulled out of the main event just hours before the start of UFC 213 on Saturday.
LAS VEGAS — The UFC has lost its pay-per-view main event on the day of UFC 213.
Defending bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes (14-4) has been pulled from her UFC 213 title fight against Valentina Shevchenko, UFC president Dana White confirmed on Instagram on Saturday afternoon.
Multiple sources confirmed to ESPN that Nunes was pulled from the fight for undisclosed medical reasons. The development was first reported on Twitter by @TalkMMA.
An interim middleweight title fight between Yoel Romero (12-1) and Robert Whittaker (18-4) will likely move to the main event Saturday night.
Shevchenko (14-2) is left without an opponent just hours before doors were scheduled to open at T-Mobile Arena. It seems highly unlikely she would remain on the card, but White said in his Instagram post that Joanna Jedrzejczyk was “begging us” to let her fight Shevchenko on short notice.
The fight was supposed to mark Nunes’ second defense of her 135-pound title. She successfully made weight Friday.
The Brazilian champion overwhelmed Ronda Rousey at UFC 207 late last year, winning in just 48 seconds.
Nunes fought Shevchenko at UFC 196 last year. Nunes ran off to an early lead in the fight, but Shevchenko appeared to be making a comeback in the final round.
